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It’s been a month since LA Design Festival, but we’re still daydreaming about all the sights, sounds, smells, and more from the two-week design celebration. Events stretched from Downtown LA to Venice, and we received over 36,172 guests at over 60+ events!

From pop-up shops to home tours; from guerilla street installations to gallery openings; from lectures, bike rides, and walking tours to the nation’s largest design event and everything in between, it was truly the biggest year to date! Among the highlights, we awarded legendary Southern California designer Gere Kavanaugh with the 2nd annual Julia Morgan ICON Award and we launched the first-ever series of popular Design Hooky tours, which explored East, West, and Center City.

Special thanks to those who showed their support for LA Design Festival and our non-profit partner de LaB by donating. (And a hearty congratulations to raffle winners Holly Ellis, Beverly Schroeder, Janice Yu, and Alek Zarifian – we’re so thankful for your support!)

We sat down with Tanya, Nick, and Amy to discover how they view the design scene in Los Angeles, what makes our city so unique! You can also meet these creative minds this Friday, June 20th from 7-10pm at Break The Mold, as we celebrate bravery and the act of true collaboration among different modalities of design. Continue reading →

Our first full week of the LA Design Festival was jam-packed with tours around the city, special talks with some of today’s most inspiring design leaders, gallery openings, Dwell on Design, parties, and lots of tacos (and maybe tequila…) – whew!

Check out our photo recap from some of last week’s design-filled festivities. And if you missed out, have no fear – week 2 of LA Design Festival is here! View the calendar to see what we’ve got lined up in our last week of events. Continue reading →

From the Design Hooky series to Dwell on Design, to all the lectures, parties, tours, and events in between; it’s been an amazing design-filled few weeks. Citywide creative celebration is an understatement! We’re sad to see it end this weekend but ready to set to work making 2015 even better! So as we wrap the LA Design Festival 2014, please remember to give a little to get a lot!Continue reading →

Steve Glenn is the founder and CEO of LivingHomes, a premier developer of modern, prefabricated homes that combine world-class architecture with an unparalleled commitment to healthy and sustainable construction. The first LivingHome, designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, was installed in eight hours. It became the first home ever to receive a LEED for Home Platinum rating.

Better late than never, we say. There’s always something going on in Los Angeles, and we’re proud to announce a fresh crop of new additions to the LA Design Festival calendar, from art galleries to design dialogues to craft markets. Check out our latest list of events! Continue reading →

Prior to opening Wurstküche, industrial designer and restauranteur (and recently married!) Joseph Pitruzzelli worked for over a decade as a theater & stage lighting designer and co-founder of Triphora Design – a studio that created products, graphics and environments. By the late 2000s, Joseph found himself moving from San Francisco to downtown Los Angeles to become the ultimate purveyor of exotic grilled sausages.
Today, we can’t imagine the Arts District without the mouthwatering aroma of gourmet wursts, ranging from the familiar (think Kielbasa, Hot Links, and Chicken Apple & Spices) to the downright dangerous (Rattlesnake & Rabbit with jalapeno peppers, anyone?). But as much as we can’t get enough of the food, it’s our eyes that also get to do some real feasting. From wooden finishes to a truly modern aesthetic, Wurstküche is a delight to all the senses. We caught up with the epicurean entrepreneur to get his take on how food and design make LA one of the most interesting and creative places to live. Continue reading →

We played hooky, partied with a living legend, discovered inspiring design, and filled up on coma-inducing amounts of dim sum. Needless to say, the opening weekend of the LA Design Festival was an absolute blast – and we’re so glad that the fun has only just begun! Check out our photo recap from some of this weekend’s activities, and make sure to join us for the city’s most exciting, design-filled events coming up this month. Continue reading →

She’s a successful fashion designer whose eponymous line of fashion accessories can be found gracing the arms of countless Hollywood starlets. He’s an industrial designer who has conceptualized, refined, and reinvented consumer products ranging from Callaway golf bags to V2P dual projectors. Together, they’ve built a successful collaborative studio based in Inglewood, one of LA’s most exciting and up-and-coming neighborhoods. So what does this husband-and-wife team think about designing in LA? We caught up with them to find out.

From the dingy clubs to the shiny, bright studio at The Honest Company, Tim Hankins followed his own path to design. He cut his teeth at the crossroads of music and the Internet in the late 90’s. Eventually, after years of freelancing and the birth of his son, he decided he wanted his work to have a positive impact on his surroundings. Hankins will be leading us through a special tour of The Honest Company office next week during Design Hooky West, but for those who can’t wait, we sat down with him to get his two cents on design in LA. Continue reading →

Nigerian-born fashion and bag designer Onna Ehrlich met her father, renowned LA architect Steven Ehrlich, in her late teens. Before long Onna had formed her own design company, in partnership with her husband, industrial designer and fellow Art Center alumnus Joel Bell. Onna, Joel and Steven sit down with KCRW’s Frances Anderton to talk about design, cross-cultural influences and keeping it in the family. Continue reading →

Best known for producing objects like the designer Tord Boontje’s popular “Garland” and “Midsummer” lights, Artecnica was founded in L.A. in 1987 as a consultancy by the husband-and-wife team Enrico Bressan and Tahmineh Javanbakht. Since then, they have been steadily creating a name for themselves in the area of socially responsible design. We caught up with them recently to get their thoughts on what it means to be “from Los Angeles.” Continue reading →

Christopher Wilcox believes there are two kinds of people in the world: those who would jump forward in time, and those who would go back. As the founder of Natural Curiosities, a wildly successful Los Angeles studio that produces artwork for interior designers, hotels and boutiques, Wilcox is definitely of the kind that would go back. As a recent Food and Wine story put it, his aesthetic can best be described as “post-modern antiquarian.” Obsessed and inspired by the past, he owns more than 75,000 natural history prints, paintings and artifacts from the 16th century up to the present. Using the tools of digital design, he scans and manipulates them into prints. We caught up with Christopher recently to his take on design in LA and why he makes this city home.

Poketo‘s Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung are more than your average husband-and-wife team. The duo behind this popular design-centric shop started their enterprise with sleek limited-edition vinyl artist wallets in 2003. Since then, Poketo has been commissioned by brands like Nike, SF MoMA, and Disney (just to name a few!) to create exclusive lines that echo their belief in celebrating “art for your everyday.” And as if they weren’t busy enough, Ted and Angie also lead workshops, teach lectures, manage their flagship store in DTLA’s Arts District, and currently oversee the opening of their second location in Koreatown’s brand-new The Line Hotel. We sat down with this talented team to pick their brains on where they see the future of design, and what makes Los Angeles design so unique! Continue reading →

Huge thanks to all of the amazing volunteers who came out this past weekend to help us install the 干杯Ganbei! installation. Designed originally for a Come In! exhibition at the A+D Museum a few years ago, the new and somewhat bigger installation stretches above Chung King Road, above and in front of the Chung King Fountain on Hill Street. Visible from the street, the installation shimmers by day and will be illuminated by night. We’ll be meeting at the installation tomorrow, Wednesday, June 11th at 10:30am to finish stringing up the generously donated Govino glasses. Join us in toasting LA’s creativity! And don’t miss Ganbei’s premiere at Chinatown Summer Night series this Saturday, June 14 and the closing at Chinatown Design Night, Saturday, June 28. Big thanks to LOC and Fifth Floor Gallery for making this all possible.

In a city of one-way streets, criss-crossing highways, and ubiquitous construction zones, Angelenos are accustomed to the daily detour. But this month, drive off the beaten path and take a different kind of detour – one you’ll actually want to get lost in! Continue reading →

Next up, the Design Hooky series goes West, exploring studio, galleries, and shops in Santa Monica and Venice, and culminating with a chilled out evening of tacos, tequila, canlove and beats. Continue reading →

It’s back! Get ready for the sixth annual de LaB (design east of La Brea) Design-n-Dim Sum Bike Ride with Flying Pigeon on Saturday, June 14 for another day of studio visits, biking and bao. This year we have another stellar lineup of studio visits, including design studio Scout Regalia, ceramicist and artist Bari Ziperstein and a very special stop at REMAP’s Interpretive Media Laboratory in the second oldest industrial building in Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Gere Kavanaugh is a rare living design legend whose career is defined by the belief that a designer need not limit her work to a specific field. In recognition of her formidable contributions to the industry, the LA Design Festival honors her with the Julia Morgan ICON Award.

He started his career in Los Angeles working with Frank Gehry and quickly made a name for himself as a client whisperer, designing homes for A-list artists and agents. But in addition to the high-profile clients and other major civic commissions, Michael Maltzan is most well-known as a socially conscious architect who chooses to leverage design to help a much less glamorous clientele; the city’s poor. Continue reading →

What three-week design bacchanal would be complete without a robust calendar of parties? Don’t miss a beat with this handy round-up of all the festivities. And be sure to check out our PARTIES mosey. Continue reading →

We couldn’t think of a better place to host the LA Design Festival Opening Night party than in a magical creative emporium, replete with butterfly room and art deco bowling alley (or remnants thereof). Please join us for the 4th Annual LA Design Festival Opening Night Party hosted by Natural Curiosities at the historical Jensen Recreation Center in Echo Park. Live screen printing, beats by dublab, and special honors for unsung design legend Gere Kavanaugh, as the recipient of the Julia Morgan ICON Award. Be sure to RSVP now.

Ganbei! (which means “cheers” or “dry the cup” in Chinese) is a special installation designed by LOC in collaboration with Fifth Floor Gallery. The installation, comprised entirely from used disposable Govina wine glasses, is both a figurative and literal toast to the creative spirit of Los Angeles. Suspended above the Chung King Alley fountain from June 14th (Chinatown Summer Nights opening night) to June 28th (Chinatown Design Night), Ganbei is a playful spatial intervention that pays homage to LA’s art and design communities. And of course, what self-respecting bacchanal would be complete without a sculpture made from wine glasses? Continue reading →

Building on the success of last year’s Design Shopping Night, the LA Design Festival is launching a new series of tours this year to encourage Angelinos to get out and explore their city through a design lens. One night just isn’t enough, which is why Design Hooky proposes that we all take three!

Each self-guided Design Hooky tour is curated to give intrepid city-curious explorers a vibrant snapshot of the design diaspora in their neck of the woods. From conversations with local and international design icons, to behind-the-scenes studio visits and a peek at the latest exhibitions and installations, visitors can pick and choose their own route. Along the way, we’ve suggested design-worthy watering holes and restaurants. Each tour culminates with a really good party at different locations around the city. Continue reading →

LA Design Festival is just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited for all the great tours, lectures, shopping, and other local events we have lined up this season. And for the first time ever (for the city of Los Angeles and LA Design Festival), we’re proud to have theAA Visiting School Los Angelesas a part of this year’s festivities. Continue reading →

Welcome to Artecnica – a world where the global and local collide, modern wit meets artisanal whimsy, and design has a conscience.

Founded in 1986 by husband-and-wife duo Enrico Bressan and Tahmineh Javanbakht, this Los Angeles-based design company collaborates with established and emerging international designers to create inspiring decorative objects for the living environment. From a robust roster of talent (re: Tord Boontje, Hella Jongerius, and the Campana brothers) to a commitment to socially responsible design and manufacturing (à la the Design with Conscience® program), Bressan and Javanbakht are taking big steps toward a smaller carbon footprint.

This year, Artecnica will help us celebrate thoughtful, smart design in the city of Los Angeles with a special event honoring design veteran and fellow Angeleno, Gere Kavanaugh, at the Artecnica Showroom. Meet a true local legend – and while you’re at it, check out Artecnica’s array of unique, high-end products made from recycled materials, on display throughout LA Design Festival!

It’s official. Creativity is a serious business in Los Angeles. According to the 2013 Report on the Creative Economy that was just released in February, the Los Angeles region is undisputedly the creative nexus of the state with over 44% of California’s workers engaged in creative occupations. Workers in creative industries earned about $50.6 billion in 2013. Predictions are that by 2017, the creative economy employment will be up by 3.1% or 12,600 jobs from 2012 numbers. The report essentially lays out how many people work in creative fields, what they earn, how they fare compared to other occupations, and what this all means to California wallets and employment possibilities. Continue reading →

Thank You, Los Angeles for making the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Design Festival the most successful to date. With over forty events spanning 18 days, this year the Festival attracted over 40,000 visitors to events all over the city. As a rule, LADF strives to be inclusive and interdisciplinary, but it also tries to be representative of the unique character of Los Angeles. Like LA, we embrace the high-brow and sophisticated as much as we do the quirky and unexpected. And hopefully the range of LADF events did our creative city justice. Continue reading →

Los Angeles Downtown Modernism brings together a collection of knowledgable, successful vendors from Southern California and all over the nation on June 30, for one day only, to revive Modernism in the heart of Los Angeles. From 8am until 2pm, booths will line the Modernica Factory-gone marketplace, featuring their own array of vintage-turned modern artifacts. Continue reading →

Los Angeles Design Festival enters its closing week. Don’t miss the last few big design events hitting around town, including an evening of design nerdery and ping pong battles, a citywide evening of retail therapy, and a closing party that’s sure to go off like a firecracker….again. Also, don’t forget, you’ll $25 off your first ride with Lyft. Want LADF event updates and info in the palm of your hand? Download our new app. Continue reading →

The first-ever Design Caravan led by Los Angelesmagazine’s urban booster and man-about-town Chris Nichols went off swimmingly this past weekend. A near brush with the law (aka Disney security) just added a bit of adventure to the trek. Continue reading →

Deborah Sussman is definitely “the first designer to be honored in a ping pong social club,” as she noted during her acceptance speech, but definitely not the last. The diminutive design dynamo was honored last Friday by Wiles Magazine and the Los Angeles Design Festival as the inaugural recipient of the Julia Morgan ICON Award. Continue reading →

Here’s a quick rundown of the highlights this week. Go forth, enjoy, and happy design festivaling! Remember, if you need a “lyft” home, your friend with a car will give you $25 off your first ride. Also, if you want your info on the go, you can always download our new mobile app. Continue reading →

Design season is officially here and with it comes the return of Dwell on Design, now the largest design event in the nation. From June 21-23, the Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall is transformed into a living embodiment of the modern lifestyle. More than 400+ national and international exhibitors across all design categories will be participating over the course of these three design-filled days, along with over 200+ design leaders and distinguished keynote speaker, Michael Graves. Continue reading →

No festival would be complete without a few fêtes – and with so much design to celebrate, we hope you’ll join in the festivities and stop by one of these parties in June! Be sure to update your social calendar with this round-up of soirees, receptions, gallery openings, and other events you won’t want to miss. Continue reading →

Deborah Sussman is a design force to be reckoned with. Chicago Bauhaus student, Eames office alumna, co-creator of the look that defined the 1984 Olympics, the first woman to exhibit in the New York’s School of Visual Arts ‘Master Series,'; there is little she hasn’t done. She pioneered the field called “Environmental Graphic Design” and her contributions to “urban branding” have been internationally applauded, influencing generations of designers to come. In recognition of the role that she has played in making Los Angeles the global design capital that it is today, Ms. Sussman will receive the first-ever Julia Morgan Icon Award given by Wiles Magazine and the Los Angeles Design Festival. She will be honored at the LADF Opening Party on June 14th. Continue reading →

Join artists young and old to “trade what you made” at the Heart of Los Angeles SWAP/MEET. Leave your wallets and your worries behind because this is a trade-only meet, in an effort to create an “experimental economy of trade.” From 2pm to 5pm the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park will be transformed into an impromptu art mart offering the community a dizzying mix of paper mâché, linographic prints, photographs and more. Continue reading →

The Historic Los Angeles Athletic Club has been at the corner 7th and Olive since 1912, but chances are, unless you’re a card-carrying member, you’ve never ventured inside. Don’t miss this opportunity to take a very special tour of the newly remodeled social floor with designer Tracy Beckmann on June 19 at 7pm.

Guests will tour the newly-opened third floor featuring the one of LA’s hottest new downtown bar’s, Invention. Beckmann ignited the traditional swank by accessorizing the historic space with her signature style, adding modern elements and detail. Think Danish Modern meets Don Draper’s office. A timeless new look for a 100 year old space that will last long into the next century.

While the LA Athletic Club is still members-only, the Club now offers a social membership for socialites who want to make Invention and Famous Players their new preferred home away from home.

The tour starts promptly at 7pm. Following the tour, guests are invited to stay and enjoy a libation. RSVP HERE.

About Tracy Beckmann:

Beckmann is the principal and founder of Tracy Beckmann Design. Beckmann’s approach to interior design is modern but deeply rooted in design tradition. Beckmann’s skills as a designer were honed during her four-year collaboration with Kelly Wearstler of KWID and the renowned KOR Group. Their first project together resulted in the award-winning Avalon Hotel located in Beverly Hills. A native of Los Angeles, Beckmann is devoted to the rehabilitation of Downtown Los Angeles’s historical landmarks and the construction of the “New Downtown.” Beckmann has designed several Los Angeles properties including The Hotel at The Los Angeles Athletic Club, The Ballroom and Invention at The Los Angeles Athletic Club (where she has served as lead designer for the past six years), Mas Malo Restaurant in Downtown LA, and the bespoke upscale supper club, Tar Pit in Los Angeles.

In addition to an impressive collection of LA-based design projects, Beckmann has also recently garnered global media attention from the impressive restoration of the famed Hotel Lautner, that she and business partner Ryan Trowbridge own in Desert Hot Springs.

Get ready, Los Angeles, for an epic battle of design chatter and ping pong! Pecha Kucha returns to our fair city for LADF, but we’re kicking it up a notch this year and adding a bit of sport to the mix. Don’t miss the first-ever Pecha Kucha x Ping Pong Night, curated by Santino Medina and co-hosted by de LaB at SPiN at the Standard on June 26 from 8pm to 10pm. Continue reading →

At first glance, LA might look like a disorganized jigsaw puzzle or a city that has evolved by accident, but a deeper look reveals a city with innovative infrastructure and urban planning, commercial and civic buildings, housing experiments, and other architectural forms. The Getty’s Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in LA is collaborative celebration of Southern California’s lasting impact on modern architecture that looks at these lesser known aspects of our city’s design history. LADF features seven of these programs and exhibitions as part of the festival. Continue reading →

The Furniture Society is hosting a special tour of the Gamble House and Maloof Foundation in Pasadena and Alta Loma as part of the FS 13: L.A. Symposium. Tour 1 – June 21 from 9:30am to 5:30 pm – takes visitors inside two of the most historically significant landmarks of California craft.

Design in Los Angeles is an ever-expanding multi-disciplinary art form that has both a rich history and an exciting future. Tour some of the creative, cultural, and commercial enclaves that exemplify our city’s evolution as a global design capital as part of theFS:13 L.A. Symposium on June 21 from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Tour 2 takes visitors to the Eames House, Getty Villa, and Modernica Factory.Continue reading →

There’s a fine and delicate balance between craft and design, but when it’s struck the result is flawless. Craft + Design, a special exhibition for the Furniture Society Symposium hosted byFifth Floor Gallery, features works by notable designers who have mastered precisely this precarious but perfect balance between efficiency, character, and quality. Don’t miss the opening reception on June 21st from 6pm to 9pm.

Big City Forum hosts an interdisciplinary conversation for creative and progressive thinkers during LADF this year. “Independent Publishing and Print Culture in the Public Sphere,” will explore the impact of self initiated and independent publishing in the Los Angeles community. Continue reading →

Australian design collective Quench returns to LA for the second year in a row to show off the latest to emerge from down under. Their mission? To enhance the conversation surrounding Australian design. Their curated selection is sure to satisfy LA’s thirst for modern design. In addition to an installation at Dwell on Design, Quench is co-hosting AUS/USA/LAX, a design exhibition and party with Flagship at the Kim Sing Theater on June 22. Continue reading →

For the third year in a row, LADF and Chung King Road celebrate the vibrant creative community that continues to grow under the crimson glow of Chinatown’s lanterns by hosting Chinatown Design Night, June 29th from 7pm to 10pm. Shops, studios, and galleries will stay open late into the summer night for this all-out art and design street party, which also serves as the closing party for the Los Angeles Design Festival.

LADF starts one day early this year with an amazing design story that blends fashion with architecture, technology, and a beautiful Hollywood siren. Join LACMA’s Costume Council for very special event with Michael Schmidt and Rose Apodaca. Continue reading →

What do Wilshire Boulevard and a barley field have in common? It may surprise some, but they were once one and the same. 118 years ago, this iconic boulevard was carved from rolling barley fields into one of the first roads to bisect Los Angeles.

How is design driving meaningful innovation and change in today’s economy?

This summer, explore the role of design in an important global conversation on how design is transforming business, transportation, education and the public sector, as the Design Management Institute – an international nonprofit organization that seeks to heighten awareness of design as an essential part of business strategy – brings the 2013 Design Thinking Conference to Los Angeles for the first time. Continue reading →

Whether you’re a designer or design-lover, you won’t want to miss Celebration, a special evening commemorating the best of design. This year’s gala marks an exciting and distinct milestone for ASID, as it will be hosted for the first time ever on the West Coast! Continue reading →

Chinatown Design Night went off with such a bang last year that it’s back again in 2013. The annual design street party will be rounding out two weeks of citywide celebrations and serve as the official closing party for LADF 2013. Continue reading →

SuperCaliProductionisticDesignaliciousExhibitalidocious: It’s not easy to say, but it may become the new mantra for the next generation of California furniture makers. Find out more about the state of modern furniture craft this summer when The Furniture Society hosts their annual symposium in Los Angeles. In a departure from the Society’s typical conference format, FS13: LA symposium will harness the energy and talent of LA’s design community to explore issues critical to designer-makers today. Continue reading →

We all know about the great Westside-Eastside divide in LA. Yes, it’s a cultural, socio-economic, and geographic thing. But mainly, it’s a driving thing, right? It’s tough to commit to an event when you know you have to fight traffic for at least an hour to get there, scavenge for parking, and then return home with maybe a few crudites and a glass of wine in your belly. Well, LADF gets it. So this year, to encourage citywide participation and a sense of community, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Lyft to give our guests a ride to and from any LADF events. Of course, we’d prefer it if you walked, rode your bike, or took public transportation. But if you were going to drive, grabbing a Lyft is a great alternative.

Submissions have just closed for the 2013 AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards which recognize the best-designed restaurants, cafes, and bars and lounges in Los Angeles and beyond. Now in its ninth year, the Restaurant Design Awards continue to be one of the AIA|LA’s most popular awards programs.

The 3rd Annual LA Design Festival returns June 13 to June 30, 2013 for two full weeks of citywide design celebrations of varying size, scope, and splendor. With a creative economy that generates over $230.7 billion per year and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes, Los Angeles is without doubt a global design capital. Continue reading →